PRE SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE ULIS ELTE PROGRAM IN PREPARING THEM TO BECOME ENGLISH TEACHERS

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION

GRADUATION PAPER

PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF THE
ULIS ELTE PROGRAM IN PREPARING THEM TO
BECOME ENGLISH TEACHERS

Supervisor:

Lƣơng Quỳnh Trang (M. TESOL; M. Ed)

Student:

Thành Hữu Hà Anh

Class:

QH2017.F.1.E1SPCLC

Faculty:

Faculty

of

Education

Hanoi, 2021

English

Language

Teacher


ĐẠI HỌC QUỐC GIA HÀ NỘI
TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
KHOA SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH

KHĨA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP

CHƢƠNG TRÌNH SƢ PHẠM TIẾNG ANH TẠI
TRƢỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ NHÌN NHẬN BỞI
SINH VIÊN NĂM BỐN TRONG VIỆC CHUẨN BỊ HỌ
ĐỂ TRỞ THÀNH GIÁO VIÊN TIẾNG ANH

Giáo viên hƣớng dẫn: Lƣơng Quỳnh Trang (M. TESOL; M. Ed)
Sinh viên:

Thành Hữu Hà Anh

Lớp:

QH2017.F.1.E1SPCLC

Khoa:

Khoa Sƣ phạm Tiếng Anh

Hanoi, 2021


Supervisor’s Comments
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Supervisor’s Signature of Approval

____________________________


ACCEPTANCE PAGE
I hereby state that I, Thanh Huu Ha Anh from QH2017.F.1.E1SPCLC, being a
candidate for the degree of Bachelor in English Language Teacher Education, accept
the requirements of the University relating to the retention and use of Bachelor’s
Graduation Paper deposited in the library.
Regarding these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the
library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance
with the normal conditions established by the librarian for the care, loan or
reproduction of the paper.

Signature
Thành Hữu Hà Anh

Date
June 9, 2021

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to express my deep and sincere gratitude to my
research supervisor, Mrs. Luong Quynh Trang, for her invaluable guidance and
constant support throughout this research. Her critical feedback, encouragement and
trust were a great source of motivation and inspiration for me to not only complete this
study, but also consider pursuing research opportunities in the future.
Secondly, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the fourth-year teacher
trainees at the University of Languages and International Studies for dedicating their
time and effort to completing the questionnaires and doing the interviews.
Last but not least, I am extremely grateful to my family, friends and classmates
from 17E1 for their unconditional love and support in the research process.

i


ABSTRACT
The demand for English in the era of globalization has led to English becoming
a compulsory school subject in Vietnam, which in turn places more emphasis on
English teachers’ competencies as well as the field of English language teaching in
general. This situation became a source of motivation for the researcher to conduct this
study entitled “Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the ULIS ELTE program in
preparing them to become English teachers”. The study is an investigation into the
mainstream English teacher education program at the University of Languages and
International Studies (ULIS), one of Vietnam’s leading universities in training teachers
of English. Specifically, it aimed to gather information about the preparedness to teach
of fourth-year pre-service teachers in the program, as well as their preparation
experience and suggestions to improve the quality of the program. The study
employed both quantitative and qualitative methods, with the use of a questionnaire
and semi-structured interviews, to address the research questions.

The findings of the study concerned the preparation for three domains of
competence: Competence in Language and Subject Area, Competence in Planning,
Teaching and Classroom Management along with Competence in Monitoring,
Assessment and Professional Development. Furthermore, they also covered the extent
of effectiveness of twelve compulsory courses for professional development, and the
suggestions offered for the program. Overall, the studied pre-service teachers were
pleased with the preparation they received from the program. However, a small portion
of questionnaire responses suggested the lack of preparation in terms of conducting a
needs analysis, collaborating with colleagues and parents, and carrying responsibilities
for students’ social and cultural development. Additionally, the English Language
Teaching Methodology courses were revealed to be most effective at equipping preservice teachers with the aforementioned competence domains (Competence in
Language and Subject Area, Competence in Planning, Teaching and Classroom
Management along with Competence in Monitoring, Assessment and Professional

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Development). Suggestions for the improvement of the program involved various
aspects, namely course duration, program orientation, requirement for language
proficiency, contextual factors and pedagogical internship. These findings may be able
to provide insights into foreign language teacher education and propose ideas to
enhance teacher education programs.
Keywords: teacher preparation, teacher competencies, foreign language teacher
education, University of Languages and International Studies, ULIS

iii


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
Abbreviation

Meaning

ULIS

University of Languages and International Studies

ELTE

English Language Teacher Education

FELTE

Faculty of English Language Teacher Education

EFL

English as a foreign language

ESL

English as a second language

PSTs

Pre-service teachers

MOET

Ministry of Education and Training

TESOL

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

SLTE

Second Language Teacher Education

FLTE

Foreign Language Teacher Education

CEFR

The Common European Framework of Reference for
Languages

VSTEP

Vietnamese Standardised Test of English Proficiency

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LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES
Number

Title

Page

Figure 1

The gender of the participants

17

Figure 2

The teaching experience of the participants

18

Figure 3

Braun & Clarke’s six-phase framework for

23

conducting thematic analysis
Table 4.1

Results - Competence in Language and Subject

26

Area
Table 4.2

Descriptive statistics - Competence in Language

28

and Subject Area
Table 4.3

Results - Competence in Planning, Teaching and

30

Classroom Management
Table 4.4

Descriptive statistics - Competence in Planning,

32

Teaching and Classroom Management
Table 4.5

Results - Competence in Monitoring, Assessment

34

and Professional Development
Table 4.6

Descriptive statistics - Competence in Monitoring,

35

Assessment and Professional Development
Table 4.7

Results - English Language Teaching Courses

37

Table 4.8

Descriptive statistics - English Language Teaching

39

Courses
Table 4.9

Results - Culture-related Courses

40

Table 4.10 Descriptive statistics - Culture-related Courses

41

Table 4.11 Results - Linguistics Courses

42

Table 4.12 Descriptive statistics - Linguistics Courses

43

Table 4.13 Results - Literature Course

44

Table 4.14 Descriptive statistics - Literature Course

44

Table 4.15 Most helpful aspects of the ULIS ELTE program

46

v


Table 7

Profile summary of the interviewees

115

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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. i

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... ii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ....................................................................................... iv
LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES .............................................................................. v
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 1
1.1. Background of the study ...................................................................................... 1
1.2. Statement of the research problem and rationale ................................................. 2
1.3. Aims of the study ................................................................................................. 3
1.4. Scope of the study ................................................................................................ 4
1.5. Methodology of the study .................................................................................... 5
1.6. Significance of the study ...................................................................................... 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................ 7
2.1. Foreign Language Teacher Education programs ................................................. 7
2.1.1. Areas of knowledge ...................................................................................... 7
2.1.2. Areas of improvement .................................................................................. 9
2.2. Competencies of foreign language teachers ....................................................... 11
2.3. Research gap ...................................................................................................... 14
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 16
3.1. Setting of the study ............................................................................................. 16
3.2. Participants of the study ..................................................................................... 17
3.3. Data collection instruments ................................................................................ 18
3.3.1. Questionnaire .............................................................................................. 18

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3.3.2. Semi-structured interview........................................................................... 20
3.4. Data collection procedures ................................................................................. 21
3.4.1. Pilot questionnaire ...................................................................................... 21
3.4.2. Questionnaire administration ...................................................................... 21
3.4.3. Interview ..................................................................................................... 22

3.4.4. Writing ........................................................................................................ 22
3.5. Data analysis ...................................................................................................... 23
3.6. Ethical issues ...................................................................................................... 23
CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION .......................................................... 25
4.1. Pre-service teachers’ preparation for displaying English teacher competencies 25
4.1.1. Domains of Competence ............................................................................ 25
4.1.1.1. Competence in Language and Subject Area ............................................ 25
4.1.1.2. Competence in Planning, Teaching and Classroom Management .......... 29
4.1.1.3. Competence in Monitoring, Assessment and Professional Development 33
4.1.2. The effectiveness of ELTE courses in helping pre-service teachers gain
competencies......................................................................................................... 36
4.1.2.1. English Language Teaching Courses ...................................................... 36
4.1.2.2. Culture-related Courses ........................................................................... 40
4.1.2.3. Linguistics Courses.................................................................................. 41
4.1.2.4. Literature Course ..................................................................................... 43
4.1.3. Summary of findings .................................................................................. 44
4.2. Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the preparation experience in the ULIS
ELTE program........................................................................................................... 45

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4.2.1. Positive experiences ................................................................................... 45
4.2.2. Negative experiences .................................................................................. 47
4.3. Pre-service teachers’ suggestions for the ULIS ELTE program ........................ 50
4.4. Discussion .......................................................................................................... 53
4.4.1. Pre-service teachers’ preparation for displaying English teacher
competencies......................................................................................................... 53
4.4.2. Pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the preparation experience in the ULIS
ELTE program ...................................................................................................... 55

4.4.3. Pre-service teachers’ suggestions for the ULIS ELTE program ................ 57
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION ..................................................................................... 58
5.1. Summary of findings .......................................................................................... 58
5.1.1. Pre-service teachers’ preparation for displaying English teacher
competencies......................................................................................................... 58
5.1.2. Pre-service teachers’ preparation experiences and suggestions for the ULIS
ELTE program ...................................................................................................... 59
5.2. Implications ........................................................................................................ 59
5.3. Limitations of the study...................................................................................... 60
5.4. Suggestions for further studies ........................................................................... 60
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................. 62
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 67
APPENDIX 1 - Vietnam’s In-service English Teacher Competence Framework ... 67
APPENDIX 2 - The curriculum of the ULIS ELTE program .................................. 70
APPENDIX 3 - First Graduate Questionnaire .......................................................... 76
APPENDIX 4 - The questionnaire used in this study ............................................... 82
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APPENDIX 5 - Interview Protocol ......................................................................... 111
APPENDIX 6 - Interview Consent Form................................................................ 113
APPENDIX 7 - Summary of interviewees’ profile................................................. 115

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CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
This chapter presents the background, aims, significance, scope and
organization of the study. The Background section gives information on the research
problem and the rationale while the Aim section is concerned with the research’s

objectives and the research questions. The Scope of the study section involves the
context and the participants of the research. The methodology of the study is also
briefly mentioned. Meanwhile, the potential contribution of the study to the field of
English language teacher training is covered in the Significance of the study section.
Finally, the organization of the study is introduced.

1.1. Background of the study
In the age of globalization and integration, English has become increasingly
important, representing a tremendous force behind social and economic change.
Considerable emphasis has been placed on the teaching and learning of English in
Vietnam as shown by the Ministry of Education and Training’s effort to teach English
to more and more children (MOET, 2016). Accompanying this emphasis is the large
demand for English teachers in Vietnam, creating the need for quality English teacher
training.
One of Vietnam’s leading foreign language higher educational institutions is the
University of Languages and International Studies (Dinh, 2018), part of Vietnam
National University – Hanoi (VNU). The university prides itself on providing a large
number of foreign language teaching graduates each year who have obtained the
competencies laid down by Vietnam’s framework of English teacher competence (See
APPENDIX 1) (ULIS, n.d.).
With regards to English Language Teacher Education, ULIS offers two
programs: Mainstream and Fast-track (ULIS, n.d.), with the Fast-track program
distributing more workload and credits to teacher trainees. Both programs typically
last for four years. During the first two years, the curriculum focuses on the language

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improvement of pre-service teachers with courses revolving around the four language
skills, namely listening, reading, writing and speaking. When they enter their third and

fourth year, the pre-service teachers are introduced to more professionally-oriented
courses that provide them with pedagogic knowledge and teaching practice. In their
senior year, the teacher trainees can opt to do a graduate thesis and must serve an
internship at an educational institution of their choice.

1.2. Statement of the research problem and rationale
Although the English Language Teacher Education graduates are expected to
master the competencies of a teacher, they may fall short in some regards. A number
of studies have been conducted on the difficulties that novice teachers tend to
encounter. Dias-Lacy and Guirguis (2017) stated that first-time teachers are likely to
be inexperienced, unable to manage personal and professional expectations and find it
challenging to deal with students’ behavioral problems. From the study of Le Maistre
and Paré (2008), as cited in Lindqvist (2019), it is also worth noting that new teachers
often lack support from the institution, have to cope with “lower societal recognition,
increasing student diversity, increased accountability to policy-makers and students’
parents” (p. 25), and are expected to shoulder responsibilities similar to those of
experienced teachers.
In the Vietnamese context, regarding teaching competence, beginning teachers
are reported to struggle with classroom management, specifically with handling
classroom situations and student body diversity. In addition, they are under the
pressure of ensuring students have good marks and maintaining a good image in the
eyes of their colleagues. The relationship between the teachers and the parents is also a
source of stress for novice teachers. The body of research on how novice teachers
enter the teaching force without sufficient knowledge, skills and practice has called
into question how well language teacher education programs prepare teacher trainees.
A number of researchers have indicated that there is a disparity between the content of

2

the teacher preparation program and the needs of pre-service teachers, leaving them
unprepared for classroom realities. Crandall (2000) stated that “there is a growing
sense that language teacher education programs have failed to prepare teachers for the
realities of the classroom” (p. 35).
Such challenges further emphasize the key role of foreign language teacher
education programs in honing the knowledge and skills for pre-service teachers.
Although there has been rapid growth in literature on foreign language teacher
education, more effort needs to be taken to understand more about how pre-service
foreign language teachers conceive of what they have been prepared for (VélezRendón, 2002). Particularly, in the context of Vietnam, there is a dearth of research
which has been done to look into this area. Therefore, this study may build on and
contribute to the literature of second language teacher education in general and
ESL/EFL teacher education in particular.
As a leading institution in providing quality graduates, ULIS is an ideal location
to investigate how well the English Language Teacher Education program prepares
pre-service teachers for a teaching position. Fourth-year pre-service teachers majoring
in English Language Teacher Education in the mainstream program are selected as the
participants of the study as they comprise the majority of the teacher trainee
population.

1.3. Aims of the study
The research aims to explore the effectiveness of the English Language Teacher
Education program at ULIS in preparing fourth-year pre-service teachers to enter the
teaching force from their perspective. Specifically, the research intends to answer the
following research questions:
(1) To what extent do the pre-service teachers perceive that the program so far
has prepared them to display the competencies of effective English teachers?

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(2) What are the pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the preparation experience
provided by the English Language Teacher Education program at ULIS?
(3) What suggestions (if any) do the pre-service teachers offer to improve the
quality of the program?

1.4. Scope of the study
This study intends to investigate the perception of the final year pre-service
teachers on the English Language Teacher Education program at ULIS. To clarify, the
pre-service teachers investigated are those who major in English Language Teacher
Education and are being trained to become teachers.
The competencies of effective English teachers investigated in the study are
divided into three domains: Competence in Subject and Language Area, Competence
in Teaching, Planning and Classroom Management, Competence in Monitoring,
Assessment and Professional Development.
In addition, it is important to note that the questionnaire used in this study
cannot cover the entire curriculum (see APPENDIX 2) due to time constraints. Hence,
the questionnaire would only take into account twelve compulsory courses for
mainstream pre-service teachers which focus on ELTE professional development:
- English Language Teaching (ELT) Methodology 1;
- English Language Teaching (ELT) Methodology 2;
- Lesson Planning;
- Language Assessment;
- Fundamental of Teaching English to Young Learners;
- Introduction to British and American Studies;
- Intercultural Communication;
- Introduction to English Linguistics 1;
- Introduction to English Linguistics 2;
- Pragmatics;

4

- Literature of English Speaking Countries;
- English for Special Purposes (ESP) Methodology.
The aforementioned courses are included in the questionnaire in order for the
study to ascertain their perceived extent of effectiveness in helping PSTs achieve the
three domains of competence.

1.5. Methodology of the study
In this study, both quantitative and qualitative data on fourth-year PSTs’
reflections and opinions on their experience in the ELTE program at ULIS are
collected. Two data collection instruments are utilized, namely questionnaire and
semi-structured interview. Regarding the methods of data analysis, questionnaire
responses are run through SPSS to gain descriptive statistics whereas interview
answers undergo thematic analysis.

1.6. Significance of the study
The study is expected to contribute to the pool of research on English language
teacher training in tertiary education. It may provide teacher educators at tertiary
education institutions, especially those at ULIS, insights into the strengths and
weaknesses of the program as well as the extent to which the program meets preservice teachers’ needs. Thus, the findings can suggest implications for teacher
educators and curriculum designers, leading to improvements in the effectiveness of
the tertiary program in preparing student teachers for classroom realities.

1.7. Organization of the study
Chapter 1 – Introduction
This chapter provides information on the rationale, the research questions, the
aim and objectives, the significance as well as the scope of the research.
Chapter 2 - Literature Review

5


This chapter presents important aspects of the research problem found in past
literature worldwide and the research gap.
Chapter 3 - Methodology
This chapter describes the setting, sampling techniques, data collection
instruments and procedures, along with the methods of data analysis adopted in the
study.
Chapter 4 - Findings and Discussion
This chapter analyzes, interprets and discusses the data collected in response to
the research question.
Chapter 5 - Conclusion
This chapter provides a summary of the problems discussed throughout the
study, the pedagogical implications, the limitations of the study as well as suggestions
for future research.

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CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW
In this chapter, studies about the areas of knowledge included in foreign
language teacher education programs worldwide are discussed. Furthermore, relevant
studies on teacher knowledge as well as characteristics and competencies are also
presented to form the theoretical framework for the study. Finally, the research gap is
drawn as the motivation for the researcher to conduct the research.

2.1. Foreign Language Teacher Education programs
2.1.1. Areas of knowledge
In order to gain further insights into the PSTs’ perception of the ELTE program,

areas of knowledge which are typically present in foreign language and second
language teacher education programs are looked into.
According to Richards (1990), as cited in Crandall (2000), foreign language
teacher education programs typically involve theory-based courses on linguistics,
language learning theory, teaching methodology as well as teaching practice courses.
Meanwhile, Ur (1992) emphasized that the theoretical and experiential knowledge,
which refers to the knowledge developed from classroom teaching, should be well
balanced in the program. Experiential knowledge is also deemed important by Ellis
(1990) who recommended dividing teacher preparation activities into experiential
practices and awareness-raising practices. The former promotes teaching practice
while the latter targets the “understanding of the principles of second language
teaching and/or the practical techniques that teachers can use in different kinds of
lessons” (p. 27).
Both theoretical and experiential knowledge are reflected in Day’s (1993)
proposal that a Second Language Teacher Education (SLTE) program is expected to
cover four types of knowledge: (1) content knowledge which involves language,
literary and cultural aspects; (2) pedagogic knowledge which is realized by teaching
strategies, (3) pedagogic content knowledge which is specialized knowledge on how to

7


teach language, and (4) support knowledge which refers to knowledge of various
related disciplines such as linguistics.
However, these proposed frameworks were unable to address contextual
factors, namely student populations and teaching contexts, which were viewed as
essential to EFL teacher education programs (Faez, 2011). This weakness was later
overcome in Richards’ (1998) comprehensive framework as cited in Nguyen (2013).
Specifically, as cited in Nguyen (2013), Richards (1998) proposed the framework for
the SLTE knowledge base, or in other words, “constituent domains of knowledge,

skill, understanding, and awareness” (p. 3), that comprises the theories of teaching,
teaching skills, communication skills, subject matter knowledge, pedagogical
reasoning skills, decision making as well as contextual knowledge.
To elaborate, theories of teaching focus on the theoretical foundation of the
SLTE program and the rationale for classroom practices that PSTs need to develop
during the program, while teaching skills are concerned with skills expected of all
teachers irrespective of the subject they teach as well as those specific to second
language teaching. Communication skills encompass the ability to communicate
effectively and foster a good relationship with others, and the target language
proficiency level needed to teach effectively. Subject matter knowledge entails the
specialized concepts and theories along with disciplinary knowledge that form the
theoretical basis of second language teaching, with typical subjects such as linguistics
and syllabus design. The domain of pedagogical reasoning skills and decision making
refers to teachers' cognitive skills underpinning teaching skills and techniques and
their ability to make interactive decisions suitable to a specific lesson. Lastly,
contextual factors such as language teaching policies, types of institutions or
administrative practices are included in the domain of contextual knowledge.

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2.1.2. Areas of improvement
Since the study intends to find out PSTs’ suggestions for improving the ELTE
program as well as provide further implications for change, it is necessary to
investigate past literature about the areas of improvement of ESL/EFL teacher
preparation programs.
In 2010, Komur published his study about English teacher competencies and
knowledge set in the Turkish context. Information was gathered from thirty-nine
fourth-year PSTs majored in English Teacher Education at Muğla University, Turkey.
Both quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments were utilized to help

assess the teacher competencies and knowledge of the PSTs, provide insights into their
teaching practicum experience, and look into the strengths and weaknesses of preservice teacher training programs. The findings obtained in the study pointed to a
disconnection between theory and practice, and the need for program redesigning to
better integrate theory with practice, particularly by organizing more feedback sessions
for PSTs.
Regarding Komur’s (2010) study, while the quantitative data suggested that
PSTs were sufficiently equipped with teacher competencies and teacher knowledge to
enter the classroom, the analysis of the qualitative data showed that PSTs were less
competent regarding areas of language learning and phonology, which were more
theory-based and prone to abstraction. They also faced many challenges in teaching
grammar, language skills and classroom management in their teaching practicum,
which is likely due to lack of teaching practice opportunities.
Nguyen’s (2013) comparative study also shed light on areas of strengths and
weaknesses of the SLTE curriculum of Treehills University, Australia (pseudonym)
and Nam-Do University, Vietnam (pseudonym). His study adopted Richards’ (1998)
framework on the six aforementioned domains constituting the knowledge base of
SLTE as the guideline to analyze the SLTE curricula. While the strengths of Treehills
University’s curriculum lied in contextual knowledge and pedagogical knowledge, its

9


weakness concerned the lack of focus on the domain of subject matter knowledge.
According to Nguyen (2013), Treehills University’s curriculum “did not include any
unit that explicitly developed subject matter knowledge for English language teacher”
(p. 16) and it spent “no time on the domain of subject matter knowledge” (p. 16),
which was due to limited course length and the program’s double focus which allowed
PSTs to acquire and develop subject matter knowledge in another field such as Art or
Business. On the other hand, the majority of for Nam-Do University’s curriculum was
dedicated to English proficiency and subject matter knowledge, whereas little attention

was paid to the domains contextual knowledge, pedagogical reasoning and decision
making. Findings from the study revealed that there was limited time allocated to the
teaching practicum, which was a major contributor to contextual knowledge,
pedagogical reasoning and decision making, as a result of financial constraints.
Problems with the teaching practicum are also evident in Sulistiyo’s (2015)
study investigating the English teacher education program at Jambi University in
Indonesia to make informed suggestions for its improvement. The mixed-methods
study dealt with recent teacher graduates’ and beginner teachers’ perceptions of their
experiences as PSTs in the English as a foreign language teacher education program
(EFLTEP) of Jambi University. School principals and teacher educators’ opinions
about EFLTEP graduates’ knowledge and preparedness to teach were also looked into.
Findings from the study showed that the specific issues with the teaching practicum
mainly concerned the length of the practicum and the extent of the assistance from
teacher educators and supervisors. Qualitative data indicated that the duration of the
practicum was short as “it only lasts for a semester” (p. 177) so PSTs did not have
enough time to apply their knowledge base and handle various challenges in class.
80% of the EFLTEP’s graduates interviewed deemed an extension necessary in order
to better prepare prospective teachers. In addition, teacher educators and supervising
teachers did not meet the participants’ expectations at times. It was reported that

10


interviewees received minimal input from teacher educators during their practicum,
and supervising teachers also did not fulfill their roles:
As a student teacher who is doing teaching practicum, I hoped that my
supervising teachers would help me much during my teaching in the classroom,
but I felt that I had less support from my supervising teacher. When I had
problems, such as how to deal with students’ behaviour, my supervising teacher
seems to be reluctant to discuss it with me and find the solution how to handle

it. Consequently, I have to find the way out to solve it by myself. (p. 181)

2.2. Competencies of foreign language teachers
In the teacher education field, according to Nessipbayeva (2012), a competency
has the following characteristics:
1. A competency consists of one or more skills whose mastery would enable the
attainment of the competency.
2. A competency is linked to all three of the domains under which performance
can be assessed: knowledge, skills and attitude.
3. Possessing a performance dimension, competencies are observable and
demonstrable.
4. Since competencies are observable, they are also measurable. It is possible to
assess a competency from a teacher’s performance. Teaching competencies
may require equal amounts of knowledge, skill and attitude, but some will not.
Some competencies may involve more knowledge than skill or attitude,
whereas, some competencies may be more skill or performance based.
(p. 149)

Nessipbayeva (2012) also argued that a competency goes beyond just
knowledge and skills in that “it involves the ability to meet complex demands by

11